Aquila chrysaetos 2010-2022

We began the day with preening, and a stretch.



Let's have a good look at you. My have we grown. Even sitting, s/he nearly reaches the height of the frame from this distance.



There were three main activities today. Preening, resting, and hunting hare's feet.





Grasping and releasing with talons is a skill that must be perfected. At this age, those talons sometimes seem to have a mind of their own.







Back to preening. All these new feathers must be properly cared for, and today they hold a lot of eaglet's attention.





A butterfly beats its wings, and somewhere a storm begins to churn. Or so they say. This is the sharpest screenshot I was able to find of the butterfly. In a blurrier shot I could see some color, and it looked most familiar! Could this be a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)? A species also found in my homeland of California, USA. Wide-ranging, for certain. Eaglet tried their best to catch the fluttery insect. S/he tracked it, eyes locked, head snaking about. Regardless, the butterfly was able to evade. The rush of air from eaglet's much larger wings may have even helped propel it away. Nice try, keep it up.



After the failed hunt, exercise was in order to strengthen wing muscles. A butterfly stroke (Swimming technique. May not translate properly) to give a butterfly a stroke? I joke. Gallows humor.



Nice lift!



When alone at the nest for most of the day, when hare's feet bring little luck, when butterflies are only a tease, one can't go wrong with a nap.



Thunder awakens with a startle. The emergent property that is a storm has arrived once more. The eaglet cries out, this time for a parent s/he does not see. The rumble is rattling.



S/he manages to settle down again. One can tell s/he hasn't been in this position long because her tail is still up. I always find that cute.



Not thunder. Birds, this time. Little, flitting, featheries.



Streeetch.



Mom has visited a few times today. Empty-taloned each arrival. Her eaglet is famished. Yesterday feast, today famine. A mix of rain and shine. Mama pulls apart the hare's toes. If the hunting charm fails, eat it.



There, there, child. Maybe it will take the edge off, and partially defang hunger's bite. Time is the greatest hunter, and surely tomorrow will arrive in its talons from somewhere beyond the nest.
Where hares come from?



:> Goodnight Bucovina. <3

Johan wrote:Thank you Raven, for your rich and informative descriptions. Very good pictures. An eventful and good day for our friends in Bucovina.

Wild Bucovina wrote:Thank you Raven, excellent explanations and photography.

You're most welcome. As long as it is appreciated, I will continue to share with pleasure. Thank you Stelian for providing the means, and Johan for your helpful timestamping, observations, and both for identification suggestions, good company, and whatever else I may rudely be leaving out. ;>

Thank you Raven for your thorough observations and wonderful screenshots during the day of our eaglet and family. You're a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate it.

We begin the stream looking a little... deflated.



By late afternoon fortunes had clearly changed.



Now the journey in between. Dad arrives with a rodent.



Whether this is a species of mouse or vole, that I can't even say. We never get a good enough glimpse. No matter.



The youth has been trying to hone skills with those talons, and makes a move to snatch the rodent away. En garde, Father!



A miss. Much too low.



Dad hops to a branch on the other side of the eyrie tree and flips around. We get an excellent view of the flight feathers of his right wing. All mature, unlike Mom's.
Unfortunately for the overeager kiddo, the rodent is accidentally dropped beyond reach. It will not go to waste, though. It still serves as an appetizer when Mom shows up with the main course.



And here she is. The upper white smudge in her right wing are her two remaining subadult flight feathers. We can follow them frame by frame in the stream, to be sure.



Hunger's grasp.



Defensive mantling and fierce possession of prey is to be encouraged. This behavior is needed to survive beyond the nest.





Whilst eaglet is distracted with the second well-plucked raven (Corvus corax) brought to the nest, Mom spies the dropped rodent with her eagle eyes, picks it up, and... here comes eaglet to nearly send it over the edge again. Mom flares her wings for the briefest moment and we get a slightly better glimpse of her subadult flight feathers in that right wing. Better yet, eaglet sounds to have succeeded with retrieving the rodent.



Mom is holding her feathers flat against her body. She is not wearing her baggy pants at the moment. She's going for Dad's style this afternoon, and that has some folks confused. Her subadult flight feathers and flecks of white among the contour feathering on her breast are not enough to convince a few of her identity, even though Father lacks each of these. So. We will attempt to convince with one further example.



Compare the feather patterns above each of the numbers, and check the timestamps. The first image is from the contested visit, the second from the agreed upon visit.





Let's slice this into two parts. I need to scavenge up a late lunch.

Anna Oz wrote:Thank you Raven for your thorough observations and wonderful screenshots during the day of our eaglet and family. You're a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate it.

You're very welcome, Anna Oz. Thank you for the compliment. May I never disappoint you.

Part two.

Alone with the prize. Now what?



Eaglet focuses on the neck, the already open wound where the head and skin has been torn away. Another decent sized bird.



How big is it? Eaglet drags it around the nest attempting to gain a more satisfying beakful. The spine isn't providing much meat. Here it is held up by a wing, before it flees the grasp!





More exposure is achieved. Eaglet is getting somewhere...



First, let's compare the size with a hooded crow (Corvus cornix) from June 21st. S/he still has a head and it is facing the opposite direction, but hopefully you get the idea.



Mom shows up to help. She rips most of the spine from the raven with incredible ease. Eaglet happily gobbles up what was a thing of frustration earlier.



Make a wish and pull? Bones, muscles, organs. Nothing is wasted. If it fits down the gullet, it goes.







Mom eats a foot. In chat, someone suggested the mountain rooster or capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) as the possible species. What can a foot tell us? Capercaillies belong to the Order Galliformes, along with other large-bodied chicken-like birds such as grouse, turkeys, peacocks, pheasants, quail and the like. These gallinaceous birds are not adapted to perching as ravens and other passerines or songbirds are, and so their feet are much different. Among the Passeriformes it is the foot that largely distinguishes them. Each of the four toes, three facing forward, one back, are generally free of each other and well developed. This is a raven's foot in Mom's beak. Note that the length of the hallux or backward facing toe is comparable in size to the rest. This allows the raven an excellent grip.



These are the feet of a capercaillie. Note that the hallux is not well developed. Capercaillies are largely terrestrial and their lifestyle has shaped their feet thusly. As one can see, they are also well feathered.



A foot for me, a foot for you.



Any passerine foot of substantial size can only belong to a bird in the Crow Family: Corvidae. The largest of the songbirds. Scale does sometimes trip me up on these trail cameras. I found another, more amusing way to tell if the prey is a hooded crow or a common raven. After a full meal of common raven, the eaglet's crop looks like this.



After a full meal of hooded crow, it looks like this. And s/he was much smaller here!



Crop drop.



Wings and feathers make the best cloaks. A majestic pose.



What grows a golden eagle? Roe deer fawns, and pine martens, a pinch of least weasel, lagomorphs, and hooded crows, a smattering of rodents, a couple jays, a couple ravens, nestlings galore, a blackbird, a red fox, a red deer, a viper, and more, more.

"What but the wolf’s tooth whittled so fine
The fleet limbs of the antelope?
What but fear winged the birds, and hunger
Jewelled with such eyes the great goshawk’s head?" - Robinson Jeffers





Lightning's flash.

Tomorrow, Pacific Daylight Time, I will be heading out on another full day's wandering. We will be leaving around the time the Bucovinians begin settling in and around the eyrie for the night. That is the plan. As such, I may not be able to provide screenshots for the next stream. If there is a replay available when we return, and I find the energy, I might try and play catch up.

Farewell for now.

Hi Raven, thanks again for your excellent screenshots, comparisons and comments. I look forward to your posts and read them - study them with great interest. Very educational! Wish you a nice wandering. Looking forward to the continuation of your posts here in the forum. I really appreciate it.

Thank you, Johan, for continued encouragement (No pressure ;>) and well wishes for our wanderings to be. Soon.

It is not a secret to those dearest that I am possessed of some madness.
Here I am, up especially early to record Zenit. There was an interesting prey delivery, and I can't help myself. Let us at least record this one thing before we are on our way.
By the way, Stelian. ZENIT is perfect.

Mom arrives with a special treat. Before she molts those white-based flight feathers, all we need see is that one wing to know instantly, this is Mother.



Positively heraldic in form.



Mantling instantly commences. Zenit is capable, dear Mom. As is their usual pattern now, she does not stay long.



The treat is an entire nest full of nestling songbirds. There are three total. Their species unknown. Nestling one.







Nestling two.





Nestling three.





At some point, Mom briefly returns. Zenit lets her in on the fact that there are no more nestling, and s/he would quite like some more. We have a good view of the wee nest between them.



A nest that looks comfortable enough to nest in, and have a little shut eye.

Thank you Raven for posting this before you left. I was afraid you might not get this. This was something completely new to me! I know they take young from nests, but a whole nest !! .... Then I realize that this is their life. The life of birds of prey. Agree with you on the name- ZENIT is perfect.

Thank you very much Raven for the comments and photos you posted. It means a lot to me because I discover new things that I don't see at first glance of the stream. We look forward to seeing you again. A beautiful day.

A full day of wandering complete. I am the good kind of tired, but tired all the same.

Papa.



Is carrying prey to the nest in the beak normal for male golden eagles, or is it a habit of this particular individual?



Here comes Zenit to claim the meal. As we've seen, he does this with Mom too, but since Mom usually (always?) delivers the prey in her talons it is within easy reach of her eaglet. The talons sink in and Mom releases her grasp to provide for her mantling offspring. Dad often carries prey in his beak. All focus is directed at the face, and Dad is already a timid bird. Whether this timidity has to do with continuing to feel vulnerable near the camera, or a part of his innate nature, is uncertain.



Unfortunately for Zenit, Dad is so overwhelmed this visit, that he drops the prey well beyond the nest. It is lost.



About 40 minutes later, he returns with a common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus).
We know this is Dad in the first few frames as we can see the ventral side of the right wing and its fully mature flight feathers.



What is unusual is how close he came to the camera. The closest we have ever seen him, though he does not tarry. He rushes past and vaults over Zenit.



Further confirmation that this is the male are his complete set of mature rectrices. Golden eagles have twelve tail feathers. There may be a couple overlapping, or the single white-based tail feather has molted.





A closer look at the face of the prey, its beak and bulbous cere characteristic of many columbids.





Zenit is on the way to becoming a self-feeding master.



As has also been Mom's new pattern, she returns after her eaglet isn't crazed with hunger to help with the leftovers.

2021-06-28


big size gif https://i.yapx.ru/M8joA.gif

I'm glad this is proving useful as well as enjoyable for others. All are welcome.

There are no more hare's feet in the nest for which to practice hunting upon, but the female cone of a Norway spruce will do in a pinch.





Afterward, Zenit performs the Eagle Dance, as Chosun has aptly called it.







Dad appears, and look, the prey is carried in his talons.



Trying something different today.



Good choice, Papa. Zenit clutches on in an interaction more akin to Mom's form of delivery service. Although, Dad leaves as swiftly as he always does.



What prey is this? We will never know. An eagle might as well be mantling over it and hiding its identity completely from view.
All identifiable patterns have been stripped away. It will become Zenit now.



Mother zooms overhead. Her useful subadult flight feathers flashed, briefly visible.



She arrives to spruce up the nest. Literally! She brings a spruce branch with her. Zenit hasn't eaten yet and is still in a highly possessive mode. Mom doesn't need to bother, off she goes.



Post-feeding preen.



Hey, child. Mom again.



Still sprucing up the place.



Dad returns with a nestling or fledgling in the Turdus genus. In the beak again. He drops it quickly and darts away.



Mom brings one too. Maybe she grabbed it from Dad earlier, or maybe they were hunting together which golden eagles are known to do.
Zenit drops his pop's gift to mantle over Mom's, and Mom moves to pick up Dad's.



But just as soon as she does...







All yours, Zenit. The spotty breasted birds in the Turdus genus each look pretty similar as nestlings. This one has a light throat patch, so I think that rules out the Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula). The only other option among the Turdus spp. is the song thrush (Turdus philomelos) as they are the only ones who breed throughout Romania. According to range maps, the other three breed well north of southern Bucovina.







Turdus philomelos, by Rati Qvaraia



Zenit. <3





Listening to the birds. One of the tits of the Family Paridae watches from a curving fir branch behind young Zenit. When I was a pup myself, I had a conversation about ravens with a man of the Apache people. He told me to be sure and listen to the smaller birds as well. That is pretty much all he said. I did, and I have, and I do, and my world is richer for it. Zenit's interest in other birds is maybe a sliver different from my own, but there is so much to learn because of it. Celebrate biodiversity. All threads are connected, you need only trace them back far enough.



Goodnight once more, dear Zenit and Family. Goodnight Bucovina and all who dwell within.

I enjoy your posts Raven, they are informative, and it's like a story book for the day's events. I look forward to them and thank you for taking the time to keep us all up-to-date.

Hi Raven, I agree with everything Anna has written. I look forward to your posts every day. Thank you for sharing your knowledge here. Appreciated.

Mother was absent today. All stream long. The closest we have come to that was on June 23rd when she spent an approximate total of four minutes at the nest.

Zenit played with a bone. The antics were a little too close to the lens for a nice shot. S/he more than "played". There were important twisting motions, such as Mom performs when she is separating the bones of her prey at the joints.  



Father appeared twice today, approaching from the right side of the nest from our view, indicating an increased level of confidence around the camera.
He brings a very small morsel of meat. We can just barely make out the silhouette of it in his beak.



Eye contact.





There are some dips and startles as Dad tries to figure out how to safely pass the morsel to his intimidating eaglet. Perching outside the nest edge is to his advantage. But as soon as he holds this chunk of flesh in a way that would make passage easier, it is revealed all the more to Zenit, who then bumps shoulders with Dad as s/he moves to snatch it away.





Dad startles again and loses his grip on some of it. Now it is in smaller pieces. As he pecks it back up, he doesn't waste anymore time and eats the meat himself. Away he goes.



The waiting game.







Dad tries again with a larger scrap of meat.



Zenit tries again to snatch it away from him.





The struggle approaches the camera, and most of it remains out of view. We have one slide revealing their success. The arrow points to the chunk of meat at the end of Zenit's blurry beak. It is easier to determine the reality of this with motion. If you watch the video and know how to go frame by frame, there are two other accompanying frames that help to make this clear.



Mantling and a moment of vocal silence with accompanying sounds of devouring are of further aid.



More distraction with a spruce cone.



At this point, Zenit is calling into the canopy of the eyrie as if a parent has alighted overhead. When this mystery raptor leaves, it looks like its tail feathers are white. In the second image, one can see them flying away in the small window at the end of the curving fir branch and the nest, farthest right. This could be a trick of the light. Uncertain.





Toward the end of the stream, Zenit was alone and vocalizing a fair amount whilst lying down in the nest. Sharp begging-type cries and those of the rattle-chirp or chittering variety. Bellies were assuredly rumbling. We await the morrow with bated breath.

Our digital eye opens to Zenit immediately being charming.



Annnd...



Eagle Dance! If a little half-hearted.



Worry not, Zenit. Breakfast is here.



Mother hasn't even time to tuck in her wings. Her child has greeted talons first, as s/he does.



Mom accidentally steps firmly upon Zenit's wing with a thunk whilst attempting to pull herself to safety.



The eaglet is no worse for wear, and continues mantling for about a minute after Mom leaves.



What prey is this? By the shape and size of the foot in the first image (larger than any songbird, independent toes, neither webbed nor lobbed, hallux present but not well developed, no talons), and the flattish-topped feather in the second, we can determine this to be a bird in the Phasianidae Family.





Capercaillies (Tetrao urogallus) are larger birds than I realized when discussing identification in chat. Video of golden eagle attacking a couple: https://youtu.be/veWyrne2pKU
However, the feet do not match. Capercaillies have dark feet with black claws, and the underside of their toes contain rows of "elongated horn tacks" which act as snowshoes in winter. The legs are fully feathered. One might argue that the female capercaillies have paler feet, but nothing else matches. Not least of which the pattern and shade of feathers plucked and strewn.

What other phasianid in Romania would be large enough to match the size of these feet? A large breed of chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), perhaps. Or a domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus). The foot is large, but maybe not as large as it seems next to young Zenit. Here s/he is holding it up to the head which helps a little.



Something that places it more likely in the chicken camp, are the strange feathers growing out of the foot itself. They look like contour feathers, something one might encounter on a fancy chicken rather than a turkey. Please teach me the error of my ways if you know otherwise.





Mom soon arrives to help. She is carrying the remains of a sixth roe deer fawn (Capreolus capreolus) to the nest.









Before they work on that, she picks up the other leg of poultry. This series of pictures reveal how much distance from lens and angle can trick the eye.
Is it as large as a turkey or could it be as small as a chicken? I don't know. My brain hurts.







The main course.



Zenit cares not the species of this or that, only that s/he can eat it. Isn't that crop a beautiful sight?



The wild eye of the huntress. Hers will lighten with age, becoming more yellow.



More, please.



And a hoof for proof.



Sated and content. We will have a smaller Zenit appreciation post with yet more screenshots soon.

ZENIT: A Photo Shoot.

 

https://www.tiktok.com/@addexaddex/video/6979952881340288262?lang=ru-RU&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

What holds the day for you, Zenit?



Unless hatched on the last day of the first week of May, Zenit is in Week 8 at the time of this screenshot.
A look at feather growth. Golden eagles generally fledge during Week 10. We haven't long.



Once s/he fit inside an egg.



Mother is on the nest when Father arrives carrying either a European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) or a European hare leveret (Lepus europaeus).
This is the second time we have observed both parents on the nest together.









Only for Zenit.





Mom leaves to do Mom things.



Zenit enjoys a little lagomorph spaghetti in solitude.



The crop fills. Hunger will not be outright biting today.



The eaglet relaxes in the sunshine.





And casts shadows on the corpses of leporids!



Ahem.



Another nibble. The small body cavity of this rabbit or young hare is much too small to trick us into thinking it a fawn even without examining the fuzzy feet.



Mom arrives for another day of sprucing up the place, to grow her eaglet big and strong, and to help us with identification. She is an excellent teacher.



Little, big Zenit.







This image will help with illustrating why this may not be a full grown hare, if it is a hare at all.
I would like to draw your attention to Mom's talon curled snugly around the heel of the ex-lagomorph.



Compare it with this image from June 16th with all the caveats about distance and angle. Imagine Mom's talon curled around the heel, same place.



But there is still room for more, Mom!



Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!



Mom!



Bones strewn about, the soft buzz of flies dispersing, the sun sets on a good day for this golden Bucovian family. Encore!

Johan and I were attempting to audio bird when the camera battery lost its charge early. Alas, the birds were too eagle-shy to hop in front of the lens and let us know who "won" the guessing game.
And it is no wonder folks!

Let's cut straight to the chase. Mom with a gift.



A mature female common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)! We know she is a female because she lacks the blue-grey cap and rectrices. And we know she is mature due to the fine, well-defined streaking on her breast feathers and more vibrant eye ring and cere. Keep an eye out for these markers in the following screenshots.

I found a couple mentions in published research of this species as a prey item found in the nests of golden eagles. A short search. There could easily be more.

A Comparison of Methods to Evaluate the Diet of Golden Eagles in Corsica - https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jrr/v032n04/p00314-p00318.pdf
Diet of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) (Aves: Accipitridae) in Sarnena Sredna Gora mountains (Bulgaria) - http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.301.1149&rep=rep1&type=pdf



This one was freshly caught and not a feather plucked. Hmm, how do we open it?







Someone help Zenit.







Eventually, Zenit does succeed in eating the kestrel's head.



These talons have a mind of their own. Zenit must learn to harness their power.



Mom's back. The eaglet checks her talons.



Mom assesses the progress whilst hunger incarnate cries out.



She makes short work of plucking the little falconid.





Rectrix.



Dinosaur feet come in many shapes, colors, and sizes.



Zenit's left eye mucus problem has been making daily appearances again. Maybe we will make a separate post about this later. A closer look with screenshots.



A final slice of meat is offered, but... as loud as s/he is, as unstuffed as her crop is, Zenit doesn't seem terribly hungry. S/he doesn't accept, and Mom leaves.





41 minutes later someone alights in the canopy. Apparently, a parent, is apparent. They never touch the nest.



Streeetch.







Bright red meat sitting untouched for a couple hours. Zenit tucks a foot close up to her body as if cold.
Temperature was about 16.11°C (61°F) down in a valley town, so perhaps a touch colder up on the mountain, if source is correct.





The usual sharp cries fly out in bursts. Maybe kestrel isn't particularly appetizing, maybe Zenit still wants Mama to divide the meal, or maybe all these bones in the nest offer a clue.



YAWN.



Solar panels under overcast, rainy skies, and forest canopy couldn't keep the battery charged into this evening. Mysteries will be mysteries.

Hello everyone! Someone said in the chat that at 17:05:30 you can hear Strix aluco. It is not Strix aluco, but Garrulus glandarius and at the end of the flow the same Garrulus glandarius. Today was not much sun so the battery power ran out and the stream was interrupted.
/ Salutare tuturor! Cineva a spus în chat că la 17:05:30 îl poți auzi pe Strix aluco. Nu este Strix aluco, ci Garrulus glandarius și la sfârșitul fluxului același Garrulus glandarius. Astăzi nu a fost mult soare, astfel încât bateria s-a epuizat și fluxul a fost întrerupt.

Hi all, I use the BirdNerd app. Both, the app and I were confused as to what species made the sound we heard. It responded positively to both species mentioned. Sorry for the confusion I made.

Examining Zenit's eye issue the best we can. The first three images are of the healthy right eye.







Compare the unhealthy eye on our right, to the other. Notice how the periorbital tissues are involved in whichever disorder we are dealing with. They are rough and swell out from the eye.



There is a little extra growth in the tissue of the lower lid.







The extra growth is easiest to spot here.



Nictitating membrane appears healthy.



"Ocular discharge, conjunctival hyperemia or periorbital swelling can be an indication of a primary ocular disorder or may occur secondary to sinusitis or facial dermatitis."

We do see plenty of mucus. Not visible in these particular screenshots, to be clear. I have also noticed plenty of rubbing of the eye on a shoulder or wing, and hear Zenit sneeze from stream to stream. Can't say anything more than that, as I am not a doctor of any sort, but this is certainly more than a feather irritating our dear friend.